


Protect and Serve

by AstralArcher12



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Gen, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-10-27 08:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17763752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AstralArcher12/pseuds/AstralArcher12
Summary: At 7 years old, Ariel knew lots of things. That she didn't like her name, the name she was called before she was Ariel. She didn't like the church her mommy and daddy made her go to every Sunday, how the preacher always talks about people who were different, like those of different faiths and those who loved the same gender, as sinners who will burn in hell. She especially didn't like how her parents, especially her father would repeat what the preacher said and sometimes even worse than the preacher's words. Finally, she knew her mother and father were bad people. Ariel didn't know how she knew, but she still knew how they acted and treated her was not right. And so, at 7 years old, Ariel decided to do something about it.(Aka, The story of my Rookie Deputy Oc)





	Protect and Serve

**Author's Note:**

> A little late to the party, but I still got like a few days before the sequel's out and new content is added.

At 7 years old, Ariel knew lots of things. That she didn't like her name, the name she was called before she was Ariel. She didn't like the church her mommy and daddy made her go to every Sunday, how the preacher always talks about people who were different, like those of different faiths and those who loved the same gender, as sinners who will burn in hell. She especially didn't like how her parents, especially her father would repeat what the preacher said and sometimes even worse than the preacher's words. Finally, she knew her mother and father were bad people. Ariel didn't know how she knew, but she still knew how they acted and treated her was not right. And so, at 7 years old, Ariel decided to do something about it.  
She waited until it was the perfect time to do so, even one mistake could ruin it all for her and the end result was something she could not allow to happen. So, she bided her time and made sure to never let her parents suspect her plan. She acted like the perfect daughter, or as perfect as she could be. She did as she was told, did her best to avoid anything her parents considered "The Devil's Work" and read her bible.   


  
 Then, one night, her plan could be finally executed. At first, she waited, laid in her bed for the sounds of her parents soften, indicating their deeply sleeping states. Once she knew they would be awakened easily, she slipped out her bed and turned on her flashlight. She made no sound as she crept through her bedroom door and into the hallway outside. She moved as silent as a mouse down the hall and to the stairs that led to the first floor and the front door. This was where the difficult part began.   
 The stairs, much like the house, were old and worn, so if you were to step a particular way on one, it would let out a loud creak under the weight, no matter how small you were. No matter how careful Ariel tried to be, it was inevitable that she would make noise as she stepped down the stairs. Which is why she waited until this night to act. It was this special night that the winds were especially strong, so strong that the house would constantly let out creaks. With the constant creaking of her surroundings, her parents would never notice any of the creaks she made. Of course, even when knowing this, she would still pause in her descent to listen for any signs of change in her parents' state. Finally, what felt like hours later, but was likely only minutes, she stood at the front door.   


  
Slowly, she lifted her hand and turned the lock in the knob, unlocking the door. She let out a breath she hadn't noticed holding and went to turn the knob when she heard movement from upstairs. Feeling her whole body tensing up, Ariel whipped her head to look upstairs, quickly shut off her flashlight to hide her position. From where she stood, she could hear her mother shuffling out of the parents' room and down to the hall to the upstairs bathroom. Ariel stood quietly, hold her breath once more as she listened and waited for her mother to finish in the bathroom and return to her room, closing the door behind her. After a few moments, Ariel breathed again and returned to what she was doing. Seconds later, she was outside. Once she was off the porch and in the yard, she broke off into a run.  


  
 The rural town Ariel lived in did not have many families, so not all of the houses there were right next to each other, and Ariel in one of those houses. It was a long while before her neighbors' house came into view. Ariel was lucky, her neighbors were a sweet old couple who didn't belong to the same church as her family did and would always treat her with kindness whenever she saw them. One particular time, the families ran into each other was the grocery store. The old woman of the pair kept gushing over her, how lovely she looked in her pretty little yellow sundress and how her red hair looked so cute in pigtails. When it was time for them to leave, her mother had grabbed her arm little too roughly, and Ariel remembered the look in the woman's eyes as they left and the frown that replaced the smile that was there moments before. It was with that memory in her head that she determined stepped onto her neighbors' porch and knocked as loud as she could on their door. Soon after, lights turned on inside the house and the door opened to show the woman's husband looking at first confusedly at her and then horrified as he took in the bruises she made sure were visible for him to see. And not long after, she met her first police officer.  


  
It was then that memories about that time began blending together. She could remember how the elderly woman let out a gasp when she saw her. How the moment Ariel told both of them how she got her bruises, how the woman burst into tears and pulled her into a hug as her husband became so enraged. It had taken her a second to realize that he wasn't angry with her, but for her and the moment the realization washed over, she felt herself begin to cry as well. She could remember how carefully the policeman who was sent over talked to her, making sure to avoid upset her and how soft her voice was as she answers them, feeling safe as the woman held her close the whole time. It was after that that everything became blurry and she only remembered bits and pieces. How loud her parents screamed and cursed as they were placed into the police car, the fact she could hear them from all the way from the neighbors' house still scares her. How hatefully the preacher from the church spoke about her when he was called into court one day, and how he was never called back afterwards.  


  
It didn't take long for her parents to be found guilty of child abuse. To this day, Ariel doesn't truly know why it was so fast, though she can remember one day when she was with the old couple at the police station, she heard two officers whispering near her something about this not being the first time and something about there were three of others before her, but nothing else.   


  
When all was said and done, the matter of where Ariel would live came into question.  


  
Ariel had been staying with the old couple since that fatefully night and helped around the house as much as she could. She slept on the couch in the living room, the husband had offered to sleep there, but she refused to let him, knowing that it would very bad for him at his old age. Finally, they gave in after she proved how set she was on the arrangement. During the day, she would help the woman cook the meals and clean the dishes. Sometimes if she was lucky, the husband would let her "help" him with yard work, aka tug some weed near the garden and follow him around while he did everything else. She was happy with them, they treated her better than her parents did and made sure she felt safe with them. Then one, a man and woman showed up at their door and were guided into their kitchen.  


  
They both wore grey suits, though the woman had a skirt while the man had trousers. The woman had her long brown hair pulled back into a high bun and the man his blonde hair slicked back. They had serious expressions on their faces that softened the moment they notice her peaking from around the archway leading to the kitchen. They introduced themselves as Silva Torres and Luther Fielding. They said how they were here to talk about finding her a new home. Seeing her confused and worried expression, Fielding explained how because the couple were so old, they knew they couldn't take care of her and he and Torres were going to help them make sure she will be placed somewhere safe. Despite understanding it all, Ariel still felt herself tear up at the thought of leaving them and ran outside to be alone. A few hours after, she watches with tearstained cheeked as Torres and Fielding left, waving her hand when they waved goodbye to her before driving off. She sat silently as the couple walked over to her spot underneath one of the big trees in their yard and waited until they were fully seated next to her before asking softly if the family she was going to be staying with are nice. The husband nodded his head and said they were very nice. She then looked to the wife and asked if they had any other kids, to which she smiled softly and said they had many, all of which are just like her, children in need of a good family. Ariel then looked down and said that it was nice. They all just sat there in the light of the setting sun for a few moments until Ariel finally said she'll going to miss them. The couple looked at her with tears in their eyes as they said they were going to miss her, too. A few days later, Torres and Fielding showed up once more and this time when they left, Ariel left with them.  


  
   
At the age of 7, Ariel was placed with her first foster family. They were as nice as she was told they would be and did indeed have many children with them. The couple was religious, but unlike her parents, they believed in loving others, no matter how different they are. They took good care of her and the other children, always making sure they are well fed and help them when they're hurt. They take them out occasionally for treats, like ice cream or going to amusement parks. Despite a large number of children, seven others besides her, they both manage to give each child the same amount of attention throughout the days, no child is ever left feeling unnoticed. But the best thing about them is that they never hit or yell at them.  


  
 In the time following her arrival, never once did Ariel hear the couple raise their voice towards another child unless they were calling for them. Sure, there were times that one child did something bad or mean, but the couple always spoke in at a normal pitch, maybe sterner, but still normal. If things get heated, instead of raising their hands or threatening the child, they either send the child into time-out or walk away to cool off. And without fail, whenever the talking or calming down is over, they always give them a hug and send them off to play. It wasn’t until another child told her why that Ariel understood the gentleness the couple seems to treat them all with.  


  
She can remember being in the living room playing a board game with two of the others, Susan and Charlie, when the wife speed walking in with another child, Ian she thinks, following behind her. She could tell from the look on his face that something was wrong. The two of them sat down at the dining table and the wife began talking to him. Ian had been caught with some other boys somewhere where they shouldn’t have been, causing trouble of some kind, she could hear too much of it from how softly the wife talking. She remembers jerking her head to look in their direction when she heard Ian snapping something back. She felt herself tense up when she saw the anger on the woman’s face. So, focused on waiting for her response, Ariel felt herself jump when one of the older kids, Alex, had put his hand on her shoulder.  


  
“Don’t worry, no matter what he says, she’ll never hurt him,” he said in a comforting voice, look at the other two kids as well. It was then that Ariel noticed she wasn’t the only one worried, both Charlie and Susan looked afraid as well.   


  
“How do you know?” Susan had asked in a whispered voice, her eyes flicking back to look at the table before look at Alex again.   


  
“Because child services wouldn’t have sent us all here otherwise,” Alex explained, seeing the confusion on their faces, he smiled. “These people specialize in taking care of children who have been abused in some way by their family. They are here to help us get better lives and the love we need, they would never do anything that could hurt or scare us intentionally.” The moment Ariel heard him say the last sentence, she felt relief, like when the old couple helped that one night, wash over her and for some reason felt the sudden need to hug someone. It just so happened that Ian and the wife had finished talking and were walking by. Jumping up, Ariel ran over to Ian and hugged him, surprising him. She could hear Alex laughing, probably at the confused face, Ian was making at the fact he had a little girl hugging him out of nowhere. After a moment, he returned the hug. After a few moments more, she let him go, gave him and the wife a big smile before returning to her without saying a word, which caused Alex to laugh even more and the two other girls to giggle a little.  


  
 Being there with them all was nice, it made her happy. But like all good and happy things, had to eventually come to an end. One day, they had been coming home from a visit to the park to find the street filled with fire trucks and people. The was black smoke everywhere in the sky. They all had to get out of the car and walk in order to get close to their house. Or should she say, to get close to what remained of their house. Ariel doesn't know when the fire started, but it was long ago enough that only parts of the outer shell of the house remained. Faulty wiring was to blame. A new stove had just been put in and the couple had let a friend's brother put it in. He had said the brother was an electrician, what he failed to mention was that the brother had been an electrician until he was fired for not knowing how to do it properly. Everything was gone, their beds, their toys, their clothes. Nothing made it out unscathed. It came to no surprise that the next day, Torres and Fielding showed up once again for Ariel and the others.  


  
After that, the families Ariel lived with hardly compared to the first. Some were nice, some were not. Some had lots of other kids, some had no kids at all. One, in particular, she was their first foster child. They had her the longest, made it up to nine months before she left again after she broke the nose of another child. It was ok though, the kid deserved it, he was trying to drown some kitten he found outside.   


  
When Ariel was 11, she met Rodney and Beverley Castle. She was at her latest foster house, playing on the swing set outside when the couple pulled up at the front. There was nothing about them that made them appear any different than the other couples who showed up at the house, but despite that something in her chest told her they were special. She watched them as they walked up the path to the front door and were let inside by the foster family. She slipped off her swing and went inside.  


  
Following the sounds of people talking, she silently crept over to the doorway of the dining room where the foster couple always talks to the couples in. She peeked inside to watch the adults talk back and forth about potential children. Mrs. Castle, as she heard the name be said seconds before, seemed to notice their silent observer, but did nothing but smile lightly when her eyes caught Ariel's. Looking back at the foster couple, she asked about the little red-haired girl they saw on the swings. Ariel could practically hear the couples’ frowns when they said her name and told them how she might not be best for them as she is a troubled child. They went on to explained her history with her previous foster families and why she kept moving around. A pain sprouted in her chest the moment the wife began to speak about her biological parents, the way she talked about why she was taken away made it almost sound like she was the one who did wrong. Unable to bear hearing anymore, she turned and ran. She could hear the startled shouts of her foster parents realizing she was there behind her as she ran out the door and sat on the steps. Then, she began to cry.  


  
What felt like an eternity later, the front door opened and someone stepped out and sat beside her. After a few moments of silence, she wiped her tears and looked to her new companion. It was Mr. Castle. He gave her a small smile just like his wife had, and just like her, said nothing. They sat there for a bit before he asked "Why did you punch the boy from the other home? The one who's nose you broke?" She looked at her feet and told him about the kitten. She heard him take a sharp intake of breath and then he sighed. It was a few more moments later that he spoke once more, telling her how they were looking for a child to call their own. After a beat, he asked if she would like to be that child. In took a few seconds her eyes to focus from the speed at which she whipped up her head. Even then, she didn't know what to say.   


  
The door opened a second time and Mrs. Castle stepped out. She said nothing, just shared a smile and looked with her husband before looking down at her. She looked in both their eyes and saw love and warmth in them, so unlike her biological parents, where she always saw nothing but hate and cruelty. She then knew her answer.  


  
Days later, her last name became Castle.  


  
Ariel was 16 when she asked her parents if she could change her first name. They were at the kitchen table eating breakfast when she asked. They first looked at her in surprise and then each other before looking back at her. Her mother cleared her throat before asking what she would want to change it to. She told them Ariel. If this was about anything else, she would have laughed at how they were stunned at the unexpected answer, blinking in sync in surprise. Her father replied to the name with a frown. She nodded. Her mother asked why in a soft, curious voice. Ariel spoke about how the name meant Lion of God and how she wants to be as strong as and fierce as a lioness. She then gave a small smile before adding that the little mermaid was her favorite Disney princess as well. Her parents looked at each other again and before looking back at her before nodding their heads with smiles of their own. "We'll see what we can do," she mother said before turning back to her eggs. Ariel had a big smile on her face for the rest of the day.  


  
In senior year of high school almost a year later, Ariel finally decided what she wanted to do in life. They had a job fair that day and she was wandering around. She glanced at a few booths, but none really drew her in. As she slid her gaze past each one, one, in particular, made her stop in her tracks. The words "Police Department" held her in place and brought forth the memory of the officer who spoke to her years ago. She could remember the feeling of hope swelling in her chest as the man had listened to her and called the other officers over his radio. She remembered the comforting feeling she felt as she saw watched as her parents were placed in the back of a police car with the same officer along with another new one standing in front of her with a protective fire in their eyes. She remembered and knew she wanted to bring the same feeling of comfort and hope to others. With a feeling of determination, she walked up to the police booth and asked what she would have to do to become a police officer.   


  
   
Ariel was 22 and a rookie police officer when she met a man at the bar. She had gone out for some drink with a group of coworkers after a long day of work. While she was never a big fan of alcohol and what it does to one's behavior, she had agreed to go in order to strengthen her relationship with her coworkers. At that point, everyone but her were giggling drunken messes who decided that the best topic of conversation was their craziest exes. Melanie was telling sharing her tale of her ex who couldn't get it up unless they were pretending to be a captain from Star Trek and Melanie was a seductive alien enemy when Ariel locked eyes with a man sitting in corner of the bar on the other side of the bar. She didn't know why then, but something in her gut at the time told her he would make better company than her current one. So, just as she did with the Castles, she followed her gut.  


  
The next morning, she found herself in the stranger's hotel room waking up in his bed after a pleasurable night with him. Staring up at the ceiling of the room, she thought about what lead her to this moment. This wasn't love at first sight, she couldn't imagine a future with him as her husband. Nor was it purely lust. No, it was something else. It was the way each of them looked at each other as they had undressed. He saw the scars that cover her torso and said nothing. He didn't comment nor make a face of discomfort at the crisscrossed scars that were on her back. It was so unlike everyone else who had the misfortune of seeing them. She could remember the horrified faces and whispers of her classmates in the middle school locker room as she was changing the first time for gym. The fear they all wore, wondering what could have caused them. Not even her own parents could keep themselves from reacting, both having pity and anger in their eyes every time they caught sight of one. No, when the stranger saw her scars, simply pulled her close and kissed her as if they weren't even there. Though, when she saw his own body, she knew why he acted in such a way.  


  
Just like her, he had scars spread across his body. Unlike her, he had a wider amount of them. Scars of different sizes and shapes covered his arms and torso. A few, in particular, were circular in shape, "bullet scars" her mind supplied. It was obvious that who this man was, he was no ordinary person as she was certain he was no former soldier. Not from the U.S. Army at least. After taking in the scars, she looked up at him and simply kissed him as he did her.   


  
Laying in the bed, Ariel knew why they did what they did. It was not love nor lust. It was comfort. Comfort of being with another who didn't see them like others did, as victims. No, they saw each other and saw survivors.   


  
She hasn't seen the man since that day. She left a silent goodbye and no interest in knowing his name.  


  
Nine months later, she gave birth to a little baby girl.  


  
   
The moment she saw her crying in the doctor's arms, Ariel knew that she would be the most important thing in her life. She had never seen anything so beautiful as her daughter. When the nurse finally placed the newborn into her arms, she couldn't help but cry at her beauty. She was her precious little angel, and she would make sure she grew up with all the love and happiness she never had.   


  
In the end, she named her Angel.  


  
Angel had blue eyes, just like her mother, and just like her grandfather. Ariel always hated her eyes growing up. She hated how much they were like her father's. But with Angel, she felt nothing but love for those eyes. Angel luckily inherited her father's brown hair. She was a cheery but mischievous little thing, sometimes living up to her name, sometimes being the complete opposite. She loved making new friends with everyone she met, but also loving doing things she shouldn't. She especially, to her mother's dismay, loved seeing how high she could climb trees. And this was all by the time she was 5.   


  
   
It was at 27 that she regretted her life choices, though she wouldn't realize it until it was far too late.   


  
   
She had been a junior deputy under Sheriff Earl Whitehorse of Hope County, Montana for almost a month when she one day heard a knock on her door during breakfast. Opening it up, she found the sheriff outside.  


  
"Morning Castle, mind if we come in?" he asked. She, of course, welcomed him right in. The four of them moved to the kitchen to join her daughter at the table. Angel excitedly hopped off her chair to run over and give him a hug and a hello. Ariel chuckled at her daughter before guiding her back to her chair to finish her breakfast.   


  
"What brings you three over to my humble home, Sheriff?" Ariel asked, leanly on the back of Angel's chair. Whitehorse gave a sigh and walked over to one of the unoccupied chairs. After receiving permission from Ariel, he sat down.   


  
"Came over to talk to you about an assignment I want you to help me out with. This U.S. Marshall received a warrant for the arrest of this cult leader in Hope County," he explained.  
"You want me to help out with arresting a cult leader?" Ariel frowned. "Wouldn't someone higher up than me being more suitable?"  


  
"Yeah, that's why I'm also bringing Hudson and Pratt with us. Hopefully, I can convince the Marshall to let this all go, I have a bad feeling about this whole thing. So, just in case things go bad, I want you to come along with us." Ariel looked down at Angel and pet her hair as she considers it over in her head, before finally looking up and nodding.  


  
"Alright, when do we head out?"  


  
"Tonight," he replied, standing up from the table and heading for the door.  


  
"Tonight? Thanks for giving me a heads up," Ariel chuckled and she moved to follow him.   


  
"Sorry for the short notice, been warring with myself about whether or not to ask you since I found out last week," Whitehorse shook his head. When they reached the door, he turned to her one more time. "I really hope I'm not making a mistake about asking you. Well, see you at the station then, Castle." With that, he walked away. Closing the door behind him, Ariel turned and leaned her back to it. Ariel looked up toward her daughter where she still sat in the kitchen and let out a sigh. Walking back, she looked down at her daughter and gave her a smile.  


  
"Looks like I better call grandma and grandpa and see if they'll be interested in having you sleep over tonight."   


  
   
Joseph Seed certainly knows how to flatter a woman. I mean, who doesn't like being implied to being not just one of the horsemen of the apocalypse, but Death itself! Certainly, not Ariel. What a charmer.  


  
Side note, where is his shirt?  


  
Walking up to him, passing by his congregation, Ariel felt all their eyes on her. While she could hear the Marshall, Whitehorse, and Seed talking, she didn't pay too much attention to what they were saying, her focus had been on the people around them. These people, the same people who did nothing but watch as Joseph Seed gouged a man's eyes out, would probably be more than happy to kill her and everyone she came here with. Looking around, she was reminded of the church her biological parents would take her to. The hateful eyes of the people that surrounded her in her youth were reflected now by these people. Her chest began to feel a little tight as fear began to set in. Suddenly, she wanted nothing more than to run away and hide, hide from all these eyes and loud voices, hide from all this pain and hate.   


  
Just as it was about to be too much, the Marshall spoke to her. Looking at him, she quickly processed what he had just said. He just told her to handcuff Seed. Oh.  


  
Lovely.  


  
Walking over, she stood in front of the so-called "Father" as he held out his wrists. Looking into his eyes, she felt like a sense of deja vu. His eyes were very familiar, but she couldn't place them. As he spoke to her, telling her how "God" would never let them take him away, she felt anger flow over her. Without breaking eye contact with him, she pulled him forward and locked the cuffs around his wrist. Only was as the second cuff swung and clicked shut around his left wrist that she realized why she recognized his eyes.  


  
He had her father's eyes.  


  


**Author's Note:**

> If anyone's curious about seeing a moodboard for Ariel and her daughter Angel (who is also the protag for New Dawn) you can check it out here: http://poisonburden.tumblr.com/post/182727664285/seeing-as-everyone-else-is-doing-it-heres-my-ocs
> 
> Note: If there was anything inaccurate concerning events in the story, I apologize. I'm not an expert nor did i experience life as Ariel did. I only know as much i could find concerning certain stuff in the story.


End file.
